Ghaziabad: Elaborate arrangements are being made in the city, with chief minister Yogi Adityanath all set to participate in a padayatra (foot march) on Thursday, which is being held across the country as part of BJP’s strategy to blunt a bolstered opposition attack on govt over a number of issues. Party office-bearers said that he would also address a public gathering before the commencement of the padayatra, Loktantra Bachao, Arajkata Hatao (Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy).Officials said that while the padayatra route is being refurbished, 2,500 police personnel will be deployed for the event. Traffic diversion will also be put into place even as police have declared no-fly zones, with flying of kites, drones and balloons having been banned.BJP district president Mayank Goyal said, “The BJP and its allies have launched Loktantra Bachao, Arajkata Hatao foot march across the country to expose bogus propaganda that the opposition is propagating. The CM is expected to reach RNE township in the first half and will lead the two-km-long padayatra from KWS Society till River Heights society, which will be attended by party workers and supporters. He is also scheduled to address the public gathering on the padayatra route.”The BJP-led NDA govt is under fire from the opposition and CJP, who have been constantly demanding removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. With UP assembly elections scheduled to take place in less than five months, political experts say that through Loktantra Bachao, Arajkata Hatao, the ruling dispensation aims to deflate the opposition tempo, which has gained traction over the past few months. It could have a bearing on the crucial assembly election in the state early next year.Political commentator Sanjay Mishra, who is a professor in Ghaziabad’s MMH College, told TOI, “While it is difficult to say at this point of time what effect the sustained protests, which are taking place against the BJP-led NDA, will have on the election, the opposition, at the moment, is making right noises and has the govt in a spot. There has to be some response from the govt and Loktantra Bachao, Arajkata Hatao is the response that BJP is offering. This is not common to see a party or alliance in power hit the street by way of nationwide padayatra, but what we are seeing today is that all BJP’s top-notch leaders and Union ministers are leading such padayatras in different parts of the country. Union home minister Amit Shah led a march in Hyderabad, BJP national president Nitin Nabi in Rohtak and Yogi in Gorakhpur and Ghaziabad — all this only goes on to underline the seriousness of the matter that the BJP is attaching to ongoing protests against them over SIR and CEC.”
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